Film opening examples...

Here are three examples of student produced film openings from  Hurt wood House Media department; Hurt wood House school has incredibly advanced media technology, so I had high expectations of the quality of work. The examples I've chosen are all thrillers and are all effective in their own original way.

My favourite one is; Immersed as it uses a simple concept of a girl swimming, but transforms it through well framed shots, smooth continuous editing and good close ups that create tension and suspense. I really like the underwater shots of the girl swimming as this creates an isolated atmosphere that reinforces the whole mood of the opening.The tracking of the camera following the feet of the stranger looks really professional and enhances the mystery, while the typography of the titles are classy and sophisticated.

My second favourite is; Aftermath as the "story telling" feel at the beginning is unique and grabs the audience's attention - it makes them want to find out what the boy is talking about. I think the interrogation theme is very successful as it creates a tense atmosphere needed for thriller openings. I like the way the boy's voice is occasionally used together with the girl's voice to give the effect of the girl replaying the event in her mind. I also like the ending where there is a point of view shot of the girl through the video camera; this reinforces the interrogation theme together with the tape player as a prop.

My third favourite is; One as I like the effect of the camera following the woman around her house while revealing out of the ordinary things occurring. I think the diegetic sound of the alarm buzzing at the beginning is an effective sound bridge and also ignites the suspense of the scene. To improve this film opening I think the students could have played incidental music in the background to reinforce the atmosphere and make the shots more interesting, they could of also made sure the lighting was a consistent good quality throughout the shots to make it seem more realistic. Apart from this I really liked the end shot of the girl outside her home, as the camera tracks to reveal her neighbourhood; this makes the audience want to find out what happens next, which is what a good film opening should achieve.

All of these film openings have impressed me as not only is the editing and camera work of a high quality but all of the ideas are different and very creative. Watching these has made me realise that it is possible to reach a professional standard while at the same time I know that not every school has the technology that this school benefits from.